


Life's Unexpected Twists

by Settiai



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, The Black Emporium Exchange, Warden Alistair, Warden Bethany Hawke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-08
Updated: 2016-10-08
Packaged: 2018-08-20 07:06:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8240536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Settiai/pseuds/Settiai
Summary: Bethany knew that she shouldn't feel so bitter about the fact that she was alive.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Wyndx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wyndx/gifts).



Bethany knew that she shouldn't feel so bitter about the fact that she was _alive_.

Still, there was a part of her that couldn't help but rage at the fact that yet another decision had been taken out of her hands. That for what felt like the thousandth time, the path her life was taking had been determined by someone who claimed to have her best interests at heart but who hadn't bothered to ask her what she wanted.

She was being unfair. Bethany knew that she was being unfair. Marian had done what she had out of love, and she was a horrible person for blaming her sister for not letting her die.

It didn't mean she wasn't going to keep doing it. For a little while, at least.

Behind her, someone chuckled. "Do I want to know what that glass of wine did to earn such a scowl from you?"

Bethany startled, and the glass of wine that she'd apparently been glaring at almost went flying out of her hands. If it hadn't been for the large hand that reached out to grab it, resting on top of her own for a moment, its contents would have ended up all over the floor.

"Sorry," Alistair said sheepishly, pulling his hand away as she shot him a half-hearted glare. "I thought you knew that I was here."

"Apparently not," Bethany said, a bit more coolly than she'd meant.

Alistair flinched, a hint of red appearing high on his cheeks. He didn't say anything, but his embarrassment was clear.

It felt almost as if she'd just kicked a puppy.

Bethany sighed, taking another long swallow of wine before setting the glass down on the table. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm not very good company tonight."

Alistair's eyebrows lifted a little, but he didn't ask any questions. Instead, he sat down beside her and gestured at the wine bottle sitting nearby. "Mind if I join you then?" he asked. "I'm good at sitting in silence."

She'd let out a bark of laughter before she even realized that she was doing it.

There was a smile tugging at the corners of Alistair's mouth when she met his gaze. "Okay, so that was a lie," he admitted. "But it made you smile, didn't it?"

Bethany opened her mouth. Then she closed it, tilting her head a little. "It did," she agreed, a little surprised. "Thank you."

"Any time," Alistair said with a somewhat lopsided grin. "That's what I'm here for, after all. Cracking jokes and raising morale."

*

"This is going to hurt," Bethany said grimly, pressing down on the bloody gash in Alistair's side with as much strength as she could manage.

He gave her a weak grin that didn't quite meet his eyes. "I'm sure I can handle it."

Bethany took in a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. She wasn't a healer by any stretch of the imagination. Her magic tended to have the subtlety of a warhammer, and Anders had told her more than once back in Kirkwall that she was likely to do more damage than good if she wasn't careful. He'd taught her a few healing spells, but she'd never managed to pull them off with any real success.

But it wasn't like she had much of a choice. Their healing potions had been in the bag that the ogre had crushed under its feet, and Velanna and Nathaniel were at least an hour away. With the way Alistair was bleeding, even if she could somehow manage to move him, he'd be gone before she could reach them.

She'd only known him for a few months. It surprised her how much that even the thought of him dying made her heart ache.

"Don't take this the wrong way," Alistair said, his words slurring a little, "but I'd really appreciate it if you could wave your hands and do some magic."

Bethany let out a weak chuckle. "This isn't exactly my forte," she said, her voice cracking a little. "I'm not sure how much I'm going to be able to help."

Alistair grinned at her again. Or, at least, it was obvious that was what he was trying to do. If Bethany was honest, it came across more like a grimace than anything else. "I'm sure you'll do your best."

"My best might not be enough," Bethany shot back, a little more sharply than she'd intended.

There was silence for a moment.

"Hey," Alistair said, reaching up to rest one of his hands on top of hers. "Hawke, look at me."

Bethany focused her gaze on their hands for a moment. They were both covered in his blood, a stream of red from the small cut on her own arm trickling down to mix with it.

"Hawke?"

"Bethany," she said softly, still not meeting his gaze. "Hawke is my sister. I'm just Bethany."

Then she closed her eyes and let her magic spring forward.

*

"I heard that you got a letter from Kirkwall," Alistair said, walking up to stand behind Bethany. He didn't touch her, but she could almost feel him standing there. Like a steady warmth at her back.

Bethany shrugged, not turning around. She tightened her grip on the railing she was leaning against, her gaze drifting off across the countryside around the Keep.

It should have felt like home. She'd grown up in Fereldan, after all, spent the first eighteen years of her life there. She'd spent less than two years in the Free Marches.

She'd never felt more homesick.

It wasn't the city that she missed, that much she knew. It was the people. She missed Marian and Mother. She missed Carver. She missed Father. Even though her head knew Kirkwall didn't even hold what she was looking for, _who_ she wanted to see... well, her heart was a different story.

Bethany didn't even realize that she was crying until Alistair had wrapped his arms around her in a tentative hug.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, trying to pull out of his grip. "I don't know what's wrong with me today."

If anything, his arms tightened around her.

"There's nothing wrong with missing the people you've lost," Alistair said, his voice just as soft.

His tone said more than his words ever could, and not for the first time Bethany wondered just how many of the rumors she'd heard about him since arriving at the Keep were true. Still, it wasn't any of her business, not unless he wanted to tell her. And she respected him too much to ask.

Bethany shifted, turning so that she could meet his gaze. His eyes were dark and unreadable, a serious expression on his face that she wasn't used to seeing.

"Thank you," she whispered.

His mask slowly slipped back into place, the corners of his mouth twisting into the casual smirk that she was used to seeing. Before he had a chance to completely hide behind it, Bethany pushed herself up on her tiptoes long enough to press a quick kiss at the corner of his mouth. She'd meant for it to be chaste, an attempt to tell him what words couldn't say, but she knew even as she pulled away that she'd revealed more than she'd intended.

Alistair stood there gaping at her, his eyes wide as he studied her face. She wasn't entirely certain what he saw there, but she had her suspicions.

Bethany smiled at him. "Goodnight, Alistair."

**Author's Note:**

> Find me over on Tumblr. (http://settiai.tumblr.com/)


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